Jones Beach is an extremely popular beach convenient to New York City. It is completely textile, but the area just east of the Jones Beach State Park boundary is a traditional gathering spot for nude bathers. The nude area is often referred to as Tobay Beach as well since it is roughly equidistant from the main areas of Jones Beach and Tobay Beach farther east. The nude beach is informally delineated as the area between light poles numbered from 248 to 260.

A decade ago, the nude area was popular with a mix of nudists, and authorities turned a blind eye even though nudity is not officially allowed. That changed in 2000, when authorities started a vigilant campaign of ticketing nudists. That diminished the crowds for a time and drove away most of the nudists, but nudity was not altogether eradicated, and the beach has made a bit of a comeback.

In recent years, for reasons we're not sure of (understaffing, perhaps), police patrols have become less common. This does not mean that nudity is totally safe. You could still be fined (arrest is unlikely for mere nudity) and should suit up if you see any kind of vehicle on the beach. However, most visitors to this small stretch of the beach go nude. The crowd here these days is just about all gay.

GPS: 40.6023, -73.4599

city, county, state, country  Wantagh (Hempstead), Nassau, New York, U.S.A.

classification  4 (potentially risky)

There are 7 placemarks related to this site.